Naturally prepared jerky, also known as charqui, which typically is made with cut strips of striate muscle meat, is a distinctive, rugged food product. However, a significant amount of time and care is generally required in order to carry out its preparation, which generally includes sun drying. See, for example, The Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery, Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc., New York (1949) at pages 648, 246 and 284.
In view of this, methods have been developed for preparing a jerky product which generally reduce the time and so forth required for such preparing in order to more favorably suit industrial needs. In common industrial practice, one of three methods have been or are typically employed, especially for preparing certain beef jerky products generally which have been or which are intended for canine consumption: loaf extrusion method, single strip extrusion method and ribbon strip extrusion method.
In the loaf extrusion method, in general, an appropriate jerky mixture is extruded under pressure through a generally small-sized loaf horn, which has an exit orifice of approximately 4 1/2 inches (about 11.43 cm) in width by approximately 1 1/4 inches (about 3.18 cm) in height. A loaf is typically therethrough extruded to a length of approximately 2 to 4 or more feet (about 0.61 meters to about 1.22 meters or more). Typically, fibrous portions of the jerky dough are generally aligned thereby in a direction roughly parallel to the length of the loaf, and cutting of the loaf, say, at approximately 1/8 inch (about 0.32 cm) intervals, is carried out through planes perpendicular to the length and thus parallel to the width and height of the loaf. Characteristics of the resulting product include that any desirable fibrous portions are generally aligned roughly parallel to the jerky thickness dimension and perpendicular to the width and length dimensions, and the jerky may be somewhat undesirably crumbled by hand, that is, it has a "short texture."
In the single strip extrusion method, in general, an appropriate jerky mixture is extruded under pressure through an exit orifice of approximately the width and height of a single strip of the resulting jerky product, for instance, from approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches (about 2.54 cm to about 3.81 cm) in width by, say, approximately 1/8 inch (about 0.32 cm) in height. The single strip is generally appropriately cut roughly parallel with its width and height, and the cutting defines the length of the resulting jerky product which may be, say, from approximately 4 1/2 to 5 inches (about 11.43 cm to about 12.7 cm). Characteristics of the resulting product include that its surface has a shiny appearance and slippery feel, which may be undesirable, and the edges of the resulting product have regularly defined, uniform lengthwise sides unnaturally straight board-like and sawed off ends. The resulting product is thus machine-made and uniform in appearance and seems artificial, or "plastic."
In the ribbon strip extrusion method, in general, an appropriate jerky mixture is extruded underpressure through an exit orifice of approximately the length and height of the resulting jerky product, for instance, from approximately 4 to 4 1/2 inches (about 10.16 cm to about 11.43 cm) in length by, say, approximately 1/8 inch (about 0.32 cm) in height. The ribbon strip is generally appropriately cut roughly parallel with its length and height, and the cutting defines the width of the resulting jerky product which may be, say, from approximately 3/4 to 1 inch (about 1.905 cm to about 2.54 cm). Characteristics of the resulting product include the shiny surface and so forth as with the product from the single strip extrusion method; any desirable fibrous portions are generally aligned roughly perpendicular to the length, and the jerky has poor lengthwise flexibility, "short texture" and unnaturally straight, boardlike and sawed-off lengthwise sides. The resulting product also is thus machine-made and uniform in appearance and seems artificial, or "plastic."
Other methods for making jerky in general are known. See e.g., Roth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,785 (Dec. 16, 1980), which particularly illustrates a certain single strip or ribbon strip type method.
In view of considerations including the foregoing, it is yet desirable to provide a jerky product generally natural in appearance, feel and so forth, including a jerky having such desirable characteristics as a rugged, generally natural-like, nonglossy appearance in conjunction with a natural texture and feel with physical properties of a generally natural tearability and so forth by providing appropriate fiber alignment therein. It is further desirable thereover to provide such a natural-like jerky product by means of a procedure favorably suitable to industrial needs.